Astronomy in Florida (SE USA)

[Melissa B]

For those who have already done Astronomy in the Florida area - when is the best time of year to star gaze? We would like to do a one-month study of Astronomy this upcoming school year. None of my kids are overly interested - but I feel it is important to cover. And our focus this year is basically earth sciences so it seems a good time. We would like to spend many/most evenings of that month actually looking at the stars (hopefully with a borrowed telescope as I don't think purchasing one would be a prudent investment at this time.) The winter months seem good simply because it gets dark earlier. Have you found certain months to be especially good for star gazing?

 

Thanks!

[cjbeach]

My dh would love to do with our kiddos one day. I'm anxious to hear what others say...

:bigear:

 

FWIW, we are only starting by visiting planetariums. We are lucky to have one in our local museum. http://moas.org/planetarium%20shows.html

[Jean in Wisc]

For those who have already done Astronomy in the Florida area - when is the best time of year to star gaze? We would like to do a one-month study of Astronomy this upcoming school year. None of my kids are overly interested - but I feel it is important to cover. And our focus this year is basically earth sciences so it seems a good time. We would like to spend many/most evenings of that month actually looking at the stars (hopefully with a borrowed telescope as I don't think purchasing one would be a prudent investment at this time.) The winter months seem good simply because it gets dark earlier. Have you found certain months to be especially good for star gazing?

 

Thanks!

 

I'm not Florida, but I can't help but notice a night sky question :))).

 

Here in Wisconsin we look for the time of year that has less humidity because the skies are clearer. Do you have a time of year that you have more clear-sky nights than others? If you have a rainy season that is an obvious time to avoid. If you have younger children, then winter is nice since nights are longer--especially in Florida since you do not have to deal with ice and snow. The winter constellations are made up of such bright stars that it is really nice to go out and find them--autumn and spring are less so.

 

If you don't know your way around the constellations, borrowing a telescope will only get you to the moon and, perhaps, a few planets. The constellations are like the state lines on a U.S. maps--they help you find other objects in the sky. If you can find Orion (winter), you can find the Great Orion Nebula. If you can find Andromeda (fall), you can a find the Andromeda Galaxy. If you can find Cancer (spring), you can find the Beehive Cluster of stars...so starting with finding constellations and using a pair of binoculars to find a few things is the best way to start. Someone with a telescope could give you a one-night sky viewing of galaxies and nebulae and the planets--that would be great! Or do you have a astronomy club you could visit? Or do you want to visit me in Wisconsin and I'd give you a good tour of the skies. :))

 

I use to curl up with my kids on the sofa during the summer and read straight through our science book. Then we did a few days of labs as "review". We followed that with library books and related interests.

 

Do download Stellarium:

 

http://www.stellarium.org/

 

:)Enjoy!!

 

Jean, president of an astronomy club only 12 years after teaching astronomy to a 3rd grader and falling in love with the night sky.

[Sasharowan]

Anytime the sky is clear is a pretty good time here, which is a good portion of the year. Winter is usually good since it is dark early and the sky is generally clear. We live near Orlando which tends to throw light pollution around and diminish the stars. I didn't realize until we went camping in TX with my sis and saw how many stars were visible there.

[Melissa B]

Thanks for the responses! It looks like a winter month would be best.

 

I checked our closest planetarium and they do free SkyWatch evenings - so we will definitely take a trip there.

 

http://www.mosi.org/what-to-do/the-saunders-planetarium/skywatch-events.aspx

 

Jean,

 

Thanks so much for suggesting binoculars. Despite the fact that we use them all the time bird watching and out on the boat, I've never once thought of using them at night to look at the stars. That will be perfect. Binocular viewings at home and one trip to the planetarium to use their telescopes (under the direction of someone that actually knows how to use them) should work just fine. I wish we lived closer, as I would be taking you up on your offer!! :)